


death by a thousand cuts

by irrelevantramblings



Series: "you're my, my, my lover." [1]
Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Inspired by Taylor Swift, So much angst, because hadestown owns me, im sorry, lover was written for hadestown, persephone centric, rated because swearing, will add more tags if needed, you can fight me on this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-12 16:41:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20567540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irrelevantramblings/pseuds/irrelevantramblings
Summary: "but if the story's over, why am I still writing pages?"When Persephone thought of her life, back in her untroubled youth, she thought of living in the city. Not here, in ma's old house, drunk off her ass.Damn Hades.





	1. "I get drunk but it's not enough"

When Persephone thought of her future, way back in her untroubled youth, she thought of living her life in the city, far away from their little village. Ma always said her spirit was too big to contain in just one place, and Persephone agreed. When she turned 18, she packed all she owned in two suitcases and left, never looking back.

Until now. Here she was, sitting in ma's old house, drunk off her ass. Because of _him. _Damn Hades. Hades and his stupid pinstripe suit. Hades and his stupid, stupid smile. Hades and the way he looked so out of place in her tiny apartment above the city. Theirs had been a whirlwind of a courtship, until she discovered who Hades actually was. Brother of Zeus, member of Olympus, owner of HadesTech. But he'd reassured her, in that deep, gravelly voice of his. Told her that it didn't matter where she was from, as long as she was here, by his side.

What happened? When had it changed? Well, Persephone didn't have an answer to that, but she did have some questionable moonshine that would burn twice as hot coming up in the morning. 

But-no, Persephone supposed she did have some sort of inkling of an answer. See, if you get used to being in a tipsy state all the time, you learn how to think clear thoughts despite the haze of alcohol. She supposed it started when Ma's health started declining, and Persephone had to go back home and help Ma out at the flower shop and with the harvest. By then, her and Hades had been married. She was just as reluctant to go, but she knew she had to. That was when he started building that damn town and that damn wall. Told her he was going to build her a world just as lovely as her little village. _But I don't need the world, I just need you, _Persephone thought. Still, she said nothing. Can't risk upsetting her husband, not with Ma doing so poorly.

He stopped coming to bed with her, or to dinner, or to anything, really. Too damn busy pouring over those ledgers in his office, or something. She still said goodbye to him before she boarded the train every spring. She can't remember when he stopped looking up at her. He used to get the train with her. Used to kiss her like he was pouring all his love into that kiss, like he was telling her how much he loved her with one kiss. And he would write her, summer through spring as she tended Ma's gardens and looked after Ma's shop. Sometimes, he'd even come up to the countryside to visit her. Hell, he even helped her in the fields, which was always hilarious to Persephone, her designer-clothes-wearing husband getting his hands dirty out in muddy fields. But he always did, because he always did things for her. 

But then Zeus was on Hades's back to increase his output, and so the visits stopped. Then Hades started driving up earlier and earlier to get her, sometimes even in the middle of May, when the flowers were still nothing but delicate blooms. And Persephone was _not happy._ She needed to be here, dammit, and couldn't Hades see that? Her Ma was doing poorly and someone had to keep the family business up and running!

"Would you choose flowers, over your husband? Am I not important to you?"

Well... When he put it that way...

So Persephone went, even if she didn't want to. Hades always got his way, after all.

When she went back to the city, she felt her insides go numb. The energy of the city was different. It wasn't humming or bustling. It was her husband's city now, and what a city it was. They drove through a giant, towering wall. Even from the tinted windows, Persephone could see how tired the workers were, how hard they slaved over a good-for-nothing wall. As they exited the car, she could see the deadness in their eyes, almost as if they had given up hope.

And that was when the drinking started.

At first it wasn't much. Just a glass too many of champagne at another one of those shindigs up on Olympus. Well, if she was at a party with people she hated, might as well have some fun, right? Not every day a girl gets free drinks flowing from her fingertips. Plus, it was just her, this time, only her, because her husband was too busy building the damn wall or installing some foundry or some other thing. Whatever. Persephone couldn't be bothered to keep track anymore. The last time she'd come back, he had built a power grid. For what? Persephone had no idea what possessed him to do such a thing. Now the lights were too bright and glaring. She missed the soft sunlight dappling between the trees out in the countryside.

Then she came home, and the lights got brighter, the noises got louder, and the workers looked even more dead inside, if that were possible. Maybe with the way they were working, they would drop dead. Might even be a mercy to them at this point. Then her stupid husband went and got himself a secretary. A secretary! Apparently her husband wouldn't even speak to her, his damn wife, anymore, but he had time enough to go get a secretary. Persephone knew her husband, knew that the one thing he wasn't was unfaithful. Still, it pissed her off to no end to know that this woman got to spend more time with him than her, Persephone, his _wife. _

So Persephone drank. One drink, for the way the stars disappeared behind the harsh lighting of the city. Another, for the sounds of the night and the way they were drowned out by the sounds of machinery. One more for the workers, who Persephone couldn't save, no matter how much she wanted to. Another one for the secretary who didn't know what she was walking into. Another one for her Ma, who didn't get to spend as much time as she wanted with her daughter in her dying days. Yet another one for her stupid husband- ex, ex husband, and his obsession with his work, but not his wife, never his wife.

They were separated, he said, not divorced. Divorced was too strong a word to use, and the media would make him look bad. Him! At the end of the day, Persephone was a silly village girl. No one cared about her. Got to make sure Hades, King of Hadestown, looks good. They all knew what separated meant. Divorced in everything but the law. When the media circus died down, she'd be the recipient of some divorce papers, sent up to her by mail because her husband couldn't even be bothered to see her for that. 

A laugh, sharp as glass, scraped its way up her throat then. Briefly Persephone wondered if she'd gone mad- she was laughing by herself in an empty apartment. She poured more moonshine into her glass, even though there was no point for this formality. She could hear the nightlife outside her window- crickets chirping, frogs croaking. Could see moonlight shining into her room. But what point was there, she thought, if there was no one to appreciate all this with? 

She lifted her glass to no one in the room, like a toast. One more drink for Persephone, for women who sat alone in their houses, chewed up and spat out by their husbands. One more drink for all the tears she cried and all the time she wasted on a husband who couldn't be bothered to even talk to her anymore. 

She would have a hell of a hangover tomorrow.


	2. "you said it was a great love, one for the ages"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone reminisces.

The sun was bright. Too bright. One might even say it was offensive. Persephone damn sure would. At least back in Hadestown, there was no bright sun invading her personal space and making her hangover hurt just that much worse. Mostly because her stupid ex husband never bothered to put in any windows once he built that stupid wall.

Argh, not even five seconds after waking up and she's thinking of him already. 

A knock rang through the empty house, making Persephone's headache pound against the skull. "I swear, if you dare to knock one more time I'll-"

"You'll what, sister?" came a teasing voice.

"Fuck you Hermes."

Hermes was her brother, in all but blood. They grew up in the village together, playing in her mother's fields. When Ma started getting worse, he'd helped Persephone look after her. He'd taken to running a bar, their village's only watering hole. It wasn't much, but it was cozy. And it provided Persephone with enough questionable moonshine to take her mind off her damn marital troubles.

"What do you want?" Persephone grumbled, shutting the door behind Hermes. 

"Can't a brother check on his sister?" Hermes drawled. Persephone rolled her eyes. She knew he meant well, but she had enough of pity, the scathing looks the locals threw at her as she arrived on the train. How quickly she had gone from their most beloved to their most despised. Now she was nothing but the village drunk who had come running back home with her tail between her legs. It wasn't fair for them to pin all their hopes on her, but yet here Persephone was.

"Nothing much to check about," Persephone mumbled. It was true, anyway. Wasn't much Persephone could do with her time. The garden she tended to was long overgrown, and Ma's flower shop remained closed. Persephone didn't have reason to open it again- it wasn't like she was wanting for money. She was satisfied to drink, and maybe drink her problems into oblivion while she was at it.

She had her own flower shop, out in the city. A much smaller version of Ma's, but a flower shop all the same. Persephone liked the city well enough, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't miss the wild nature that sprawled all over the countryside. So she filled her flower shop to the brim with all sorts of flowers- it was quite the sight to behold, this messy forest of a flower shop that was packed with brilliant and vibrant flowers, plants hanging from it's awning and even spilling out onto the side walk.

She'd seen him stop, out there on the sidewalk. And how strangely nervous he looked, when he entered her shop, like he didn't know what to do with himself. He had asked for some flowers to decorate his office with, and they'd chatted. At first just about the type of flowers he was looking for, then about Persephone- where had she come from, and how long had she had this shop? Were the flowers hard to look after? He was inquisitive and sharp, brightness even in those stormy grey eyes. He regarded her like she was an equal, not a dumb village girl some of the city folks had taken to treating her. 

He started coming to her shop every time he needed flowers, which was quite often it seemed- flowers for the front desk to welcome guests and workers alike, flowers for a gala he was holding, sometimes even flowers for his home. One day there was a note and a single red carnation, freshly cut and ruby red, left on her desk. He'd just bought a bunch of those flowers. On the note, he'd scrawled _7:00pm, outside your shop. Wear something nice. _

Persephone got out her best dress, a black dress with green vines twisting through it and ending just below her knees. Her green faux fur coat was next, Ma's gift to her and one Persephone would always treasure. She wound the carnation into her curls among other flowers, and put on a pair of black boots. Was this fancy enough? What did her mysterious patron want from her? A cab arrived in front of her shop at the stated time.

"Miss Persephone?" Asked the driver. 

When they arrived, Persephone gasped at the blatant show opulence. A tall building loomed above them, windows glittering in the moonlight. _Olympus_, read the large name outside of it. A hotel, it seemed. Inside the lobby a crystal chandelier sparkled above her head, and the marble floor was so clean Persephone swore she could see her reflection.

"The topmost floor, ma'am. This is where I leave you," said the driver, bowing slightly and leaving. Persephone had straightened her shoulders- wherever her favourite patron was sending her, it was best to appear confident. 

The lift had a black interior with gold accents. Persephone gasped as the lift shot up so fast she could feel her ears pop. Noiselessly, the doors slid open to reveal an opulent ballroom- a chandelier, even more magnificent than the one down in the lobby, illuminated the room. A tower of champagne glasses glistened from a table. The room seemingly glittered from all the gold in the place, right down to the gold accents on the walls. The tables had been draped in a cloth that seemed to cost more than Persephone herself. Persephone froze- this was not her scene. No one noticed her as she stood there, both shocked and out of place. 

It was then she noticed the flowers- on every table, a tall vase stood with a single stalk of her carnations, a burst of nature among the gold and luxurious dresses and suits. Persephone felt herself relax a little, although she was still mostly confused. Where was the mysterious man from the shop? Why had he invited her here when she didn't even know his name? 

A tap on her shoulder startled her. Persephone turned around to see the mysterious man, now clothed in what seemed to be an extremely expensive suit in midnight blue. She felt herself stare- she couldn't help it, he looked so handsome, framed by the light from the chandelier. 

"Miss Persephone, glad you made it," he said in that subterranean rumble of his, bending down to kiss her hand. It was then she noticed the carnation tucked into his coat pocket, and that they were the only two who were wearing flowers. "Apologies for springing this on you," he continued.

"Well, at least buy a girl dinner first," Persephone joked, easily falling into their routine. Their relationship had always been comfortable. 

"So this is your date huh, Hades?" Came a voice.

Hades? Why did the name sound so familiar?

"Zeus," Hades greeted stiffly. If Hades's suit was understated, then Zeus's suit was the opposite, flashing almost as golden as the rest of the room.

"Now, now no need to be so formal, brother."

Brother? Finally, it dawned on Persephone- Zeus, the mighty businessman, dabbling in anything and everything. His brothers, Poseidon and Hades, the former with his own successful shipping company and the latter running HadesTech. How could she not have known? 

"This is Persephone, Zeus," Hades said instead, gesturing toward her.

"Ah, the famous Persephone! I must give my thanks, your flowers are simply exquisite," Zeus said, shaking her hand with such force Persephone wondered if it might come off.

Before she could reply, the music changed, and Hades offered her his hand. "Would you like to dance?"

In the village, dancing was a loud romp with boots stomping. Here, dancing was all elegant steps and classy music. Persephone panicked- she knew nothing about this world. But then Hades took her hand in his, and Persephone felt herself relax. Here in his arms, she felt so safe, as if nothing could ever hurt her.

"_la, la la la la la la," _she hummed to the music.

"Where'd you get that melody from?" 

"Village boy. He's got some talent, might go somewhere, someday," Persephone replied. Orpheus was more than talented- his music seemed to stop time and space. One might even say he was touched by the gods. Hermes had taken him in after his mother died, and Orpheus was like a nephew to Persephone. 

"Well, it's a beautiful song," said Hades.

"Why did you want to meet me here, Hades?"

"You showed me your world. I wanted to show you mine. It's not quite as beautiful, but I hope you like it."

Later that evening, slightly tipsy from the champagne, Persephone would take Hades home with her. In the morning, she would wake up to find him standing on her tiny balcony, already dressed. He looked so out of place in her mini garden, and she found she loved him all the more for it. She would greet him, they would kiss, and his kiss would taste like electricity and power.

"...so what do you think?" Hermes's voice snapped Persephone out of her flashback.

"What?"

Hermes shook his head. "My my sister, you must be getting old. I asked you what you think of coming to sing at the bar?"

Sing? Persephone hadn't done that in years. She doubted anyone wanted to hear her anyway-

"You would get to see Orpheus, I know you missed him."

"You know, it's really unfair of you to use him against me."

Hermes shrugged, as if to say _whatever works. _Persephone sighed. "Fine," she grumbled. "Would give me something to do anyway."

"Excellent, Orpheus will be so excited you agreed."

"Yeah yeah, whatever, just get out of here and let me have some moments of peace before I go to your stupid bar."

Hermes put his hand on his chest in mock shock. "You wound me, sister."

Persephone rolled her eyes. Ever the dramatic, Hermes was. As she pushed him out the door, he said, "Don't forget! 7:00pm at the bar! Wear something nice!"

_7:00pm, outside your shop. Wear something nice. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this chapter ran away from me oops. and thanks for the kudos and comments on the previous chapter! did not expect people to actually like this lol. also i think this going to end up longer than five chapters yay me

**Author's Note:**

> not beta read we die like men  
oh boiii this is my first fic in forever and my first fic on here so pls be nice haha anyway come holler at me on instagram @/bellerosewrites because idk how to use tumblr


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